Rubicon, << ROO buh kon, >> is a stream near Rimini, Italy, that Julius Caesar made famous when he was governor of Gaul. The Rubicon was part of the boundary between Roman Italy and the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul (the Po Valley). Caesar and other Roman governors were forbidden to cross the boundary with troops. Caesar was commanding troops in Gaul when the Roman Senate, fearing his power, ordered him to give up his command. Caesar refused and led his men across the Rubicon on Jan. 10, 49 B.C. This action symbolized the start of Caesar’s successful drive for the leadership of Rome. The expression to cross the Rubicon means to make a decision that cannot be changed.
The name Rubicon comes from the Latin word rubeus meaning red. The stream got its name because its waters are colored red by mud deposits. It may be the same as the present-day Fiumicino River.
